Glider | Kyser | Shubb | Spider
A capo is a device you fit on the guitar neck in order to use open-position chords and open strings in general, starting at any given fret.
Most people use a capo to change the key but creatively you can go much further than that, just look at Andy McKee in the video above playing his composition Rylynn!
We don’t have to be as advanced as Andy is. Layering guitars in the studio, for example, is easily done by adding a capo to a part and therefore forcing yourself to play different chord shapes.
Singer-songwriters and one-man bands rarely leave the house without one, and neither should any serious guitarist.
Depending on which capo you choose should be down to what you will use it for. As you’ll soon find out, the capo market is a complex one, there is no obvious choice available.
SHUBB DELUXE AND C7B
The Shubb Deluxe uses a roller mechanism to tighten the Capo. Rather than the original rubber tip, it works very well indeed.
Apart from tweaking their existing capo’s design, Shubb also makes the Shubb C7b Special Partial Capo which would enable you to capo only three strings.
This is what you see YouTube legend Andy McKee using in the video above.
Other players have experimented with using several partial capos to achieve high-strung open-tuning sounds.
Glider Capo
The Glider goes on the guitar and never comes off, so no chance of losing it.
The best part of the glider is that you can actually change the key with it, and still play!
Greg Bennet explains this best by showing you how in the video above.
Kyser Capo
For some people, not losing your capo both on and off stage can become a huge problem.
The Kyser Quick-Change Capo quickly became popular since its clamp design offers you the option of clamping the capo to the top of the headstock when not in use.
Spider Capo
The Spider Capo takes the art of “capo-ing” to a different level, with this device you can choose individually what strings you want to capo and what to not.
You can even play behind the capo, or use it for open chord tunings.
No matter which capo you choose, you will probably spend a large amount of time in your life looking for it.
When your live set becomes dependent on it, make sure you always carry a backup!
Guitar Capo | Related Pages
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about the guitar capo, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
